Seoul offers free e-sports tour to international fans

The city of Seoul launches test operations of a free e-sports tour for international tourists. The photo above shows the S-Plex Center, an e-sports arena in Mapo-gu District, Seoul. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

By Kim Tae Won and Kim Young Shin

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will test run a free e-sports tour package for international gamers, as e-sports are taking up a bigger portion of Korea’s growing popularity across East Asia and elsewhere.

From May to December, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will select 15 tourists each month to take part in a free tour of the S-Plex Center, a major e-sports arena, a trip to the e-sports hall of fame in Seoul, and offer them an opportunity to watch a “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBS) tournament. The tour is free-of-charge and English interpretation is provided for non-Korean speakers.

Winners will be selected based on the following criteria: their length of stay in Korea, the purpose of their visit, and the reason for their application.

“We designed the tour package for non-Korean e-sports fans from around the world so that they can visit Seoul and feel the excitement first-hand,” said an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “We hope that this arena will become a new tourist destination for e-sports fans.”